The Man of Sorrows with Four Angels
c. 1470
Medium
Metalcut from two plates in black and hand-colored on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Center plate: 25 × 18 cm (9 7/8 × 7 1/8 in.); Border and center plates: 33 × 25 cm (13 × 9 7/8 in.); Sheet: 35 × 26.8 cm (13 13/16 × 10 9/16 in.)
Classification
relief etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
86234
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This colorful metalcut was removed from a 1480 missal printed by Bartholomew Gothan and Lucas Brandis in Magdeburg. That volume also included a Crucifixion and other images from the same anonymous artist’s set of large metalcuts, using the same separately cut border plate for each different center plate. That border, with the Evangelists in roundels at the corners, depicts a visionary cloudbank of a type also seen at the bottom of The Man of Sorrows still on its book board, which likely came fro...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...